Tag: movies

REVIEW: Murder at the Palace by Margaret Dumas

REVIEW: Murder at the Palace by Margaret Dumas

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

After discovering her husband’s infidelity in all its publicized Hollywood glory, Nora Paige flees to San Francisco. Her best friend Robbie puts her up in her guest house and asks her to step in as manager of The Palace, a theater that shows movies as classic as the building is.

On her first day, Nora meets her core staff – Marty, the grumpy projectionist; Albert, who’s been seeing movies at the Palace for over 80 years; Callie, the film student; and Brandon, the teen concessions worker. All of them were quite fond of the last manager, Kate, who had died only a couple weeks earlier from a fall. When Nora discovers a dead body at The Palace, though, Kate’s death starts to look less and less like an accident.

With the help of her staff, her friend Robbie, Kate’s best friend Monica, and Trixie the ghost of an usherette who died at The Palace, Nora is looking into what really happened to Kate. What she finds will have a long-lasting impact on The Palace.

Review

I loved this! Nora was GREAT! I loved how she is processing the changes in her life while dealing with all the things going on at The Palace.

The setting of this is so fresh. I loved the classic movies angle, both for the theater and also throughout the story. I’m excited to track down some of the movies that are part of the book.

The cast of characters is quirky and eclectic. And there’s enough of them to be interesting without there being too many to track. Nora’s relationship with her grumpy projectionist is my favorite. I so want her to put him in his place when he questions her movie “cred,” but I figure that will come eventually. The author throws in an interesting wrinkle right at the end which will carry readers into book 2. I can’t wait!

The mystery is great. Not too drawn out, but with interesting suspects and motives. Lots of questions for Nora to work through and for readers to puzzle out, too.

I’m a huge fan of this series launch. I’m eager to see where things go in the future with this must-read Movie Palace Mystery series.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½

REVIEW: Pretty in Punxsutawney by Laurie Boyle Crompton

REVIEW: Pretty in Punxsutawney by Laurie Boyle Crompton

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Blink in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Andie’s family moves to Punxsutawney, PA the summer before her senior year. And Andie spends her summer break at the movie theater. At first it’s because she’s a huge movie fanatic. But then she meets Colton there. And she manages to return each time he’s at work so she can spend more time with him.

Andie’s first day of school finds her asleep on her mom’s new stunningly pink couch in a pink polka dotted dress, while the theme music from Pretty in Pink plays from the DVD she was watching when she fell asleep. Colton is supposed to be picking her up. This is her chance to make some more inroads with him. But she’s running so late she has to wear the awful polka dotted dress to school. And that’s only the FIRST disaster of the day. Nothing goes the way Andie hopes, least of all her plans for connecting more with Colton.

When Andie wakes up for the second day of school, everything is the same. Pink couch. Polka dotted dress. Pretty in Pink. What is going on?! Once she warms up to the idea of getting a do over for her awful first day, Andie’s feeling optimistic. But as the do overs stretch out over weeks and weeks, Andie wonders just what she has to do to break out of this time loop.

Review

This was delightful! The voice is fantastic. I loved Andie. And there are so many laugh-out-loud moments. The movie references are also a lot of fun. This was a treat to read – from start to finish. Yes, there were awkward moments as Andie tries to find the “perfect” day. But they weren’t any more painful than any other teen rom-com. And the awesome moments – for Andie and for a lot of the other terrific characters – made it all worthwhile.

I loved the Groundhog Day story line. There are several references to the movie itself as well as some other more subtle nods that I enjoyed. But the story was really an original, even with the other movie tie ins.

I’ve read a few books from this publisher, Blink, before, but this is my favorite of the bunch. I could hand this book to any tween or teen – from upper elementary/middle school students to college students – without reservation. The characters are three-dimensional and fascinating – and so fun! The story is engaging. This hits all the right notes for me. I would have loved another couple chapters to see how things play out for Andie and her friends. Highly recommend!!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½

REVIEW: Now a Major Motion Picture by Cori McCarthy

REVIEW: Now a Major Motion Picture by Cori McCarthy

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Elementia is a trilogy of fantasy books written by the late M. E. Thorne. They’re like a female-led Lord of the Rings. The fandom is just as robust and outspoken. And they aren’t sold on the movie version being filmed in Ireland and directed by a woman.

Iris and Ryder Thorne may be the grandchildren of M. E. Thorne, but they didn’t really know her. As far as their dad is concerned, the books are garbage and they should have nothing to do with them except to bank the royalties as they roll in.

But Ryder fell in love with the books. And after a traumatic run in with a fan, the books seem to help him with the emotional fall out. So he begs their dad to go to Ireland for the filming. Since their dad is on a book deadline, he sends Iris to keep tabs on young Ryder.

Iris would love nothing more than to watch the movie crash and burn. She resents having to parent her younger brother, and she’s terrified of another fan making their family a part of his or her psychotic episode. As Iris gets to know the director and actors for the film, she starts to see Elementia, her family, and herself in new ways.

Review

I stumbled across this one at the library and decided to give it a try. What an unexpected delight! I loved the idea of this – the fantasy book series, the siblings in Ireland, the family drama, and the filming. Iris is awesome – so complicated. The development of her character across the book was one of my favorite things about this. She grows and tries and fails and tries again. She struggles to find her own voice under the barrage of her father’s criticism in her head. It was a terrific journey to watch unfold.

There are so many factors stacked against the movie that there were a lot of roadblocks to keep the story in the book moving forward. The actors, director, and film crew made a little temporary family for Iris and Ryder. Their real family – the off-in-her-own space mom and the angry dad with mother and grief issues of his own – were yet another layer to the larger story.

All of the pieces of this worked for me – the two kids finding their way together in their own lives and with their parents, the romance, the fantasy story in the filming, the feminist threads, and the fandom issues. I thoroughly enjoyed this! Hand this to kids who love fandoms or fandom stories. (Some language)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½